Edward Harold Davies (generally referred to as E. Harold Davies) (18 July 1867 - 1 July 1947) was professor of music at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, Principal of the Elder Conservatorium, and brother of Sir Walford Davies. Harold was the third of four sons of John Whitridge Davies of

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

on the English-Welsh border. He emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1886, returned to England in 1890 where he was appointed organist at the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...

, then returned to Australia where he founded the South Australia Orchestra (later to become the

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...

) and played a leading role in the teaching and examination of music. Davies was in his time a choir leader, conductor, critic, promoter, teacher and organist. He was also a radio commentator and a noted recorder of indigenous music. In 1933, Davies edited "The Children's Bach", a collection of 20 simple Bach pieces for piano, selected mostly from the Clavier-Book for Anna Magdalena. Beloved by both music students and teachers, the collection is still in print.

References

External links

Online Guide to Records at the South Australian Museum Archives

Sources

* Colles, H. C. ''Walford Davies'', 1942

at Australian Dictionary of Biography English organists British male organists 1867 births 1947 deaths {{conductor-stub